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area-basic: Basic Area Chart

A simple filled area chart showing a single data series over time or sequential x-values, emphasizing the magnitude of values through the filled region below the line.

Data Requirements

  • x: Numeric or datetime column for x-axis values (sequential or time-based)
  • y: Numeric column for y-axis values (the area will be filled from zero to this value)

Optional Parameters

  • title: Plot title (default: None)
  • xlabel: X-axis label (default: uses column name)
  • ylabel: Y-axis label (default: uses column name)
  • color: Fill color for the area (default: "steelblue")
  • alpha: Transparency level for the fill (default: 0.7)
  • line_color: Color of the line at the top of the area (default: same as fill color)
  • line_width: Width of the top line (default: 2)
  • show_line: Whether to show the line at the top of the area (default: True)

Expected Output

A filled area chart with:

  • X and Y axes labeled with column names (or custom labels)
  • Filled area from zero (baseline) to the data values
  • Optional line at the top edge of the filled area
  • Grid visible but subtle (alpha ≤ 0.3)
  • Professional appearance with proper spacing
  • Smooth visual representation of trends with emphasis on magnitude

Quality Criteria

  • Axes labeled clearly
  • Grid visible but subtle
  • Fill area clearly visible with appropriate transparency
  • No overlapping labels
  • Appropriate figure size (16:9 aspect ratio)
  • Type hints and validation present
  • Colorblind-safe default color

Examples

Example 1: Basic Usage

import pandas as pd
data = pd.DataFrame({
    'month': [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6],
    'sales': [100, 150, 200, 180, 220, 250]
})
fig = create_plot(data, 'month', 'sales')

Example 2: Custom Styling

fig = create_plot(
    data,
    'month',
    'sales',
    alpha=0.5,
    title='Monthly Sales Trend',
    color='teal'
)

Use Cases

  • Visualizing cumulative values over time (e.g., total revenue growth)
  • Showing trends with emphasis on magnitude (e.g., stock prices)
  • Comparing values to a baseline (e.g., temperature variations from average)
  • Displaying time series data where the area under the curve is meaningful
  • Illustrating resource utilization over time (e.g., CPU usage)

Tags

area, trend, time-series, basic, 2d